Fantasy short ‘The Black Cat’ to have its World Premiere at FilmQuest
Based on Ruskin Bond's story, the film features veteran actor Tom Alter
Filmmaker Bhargav Saikia’s fantasy genre short, The Black Cat will have its World Premiere at FilmQuest in Utah, USA on September 13, 2017. Saikia’s previous films have been screened in-competition at several top genre film festivals. His latest short film is also nominated for the Best Fantasy Short Film Award at FilmQuest, which will be held from September 8-16, 2017.
The Black Cat, an official adaptation of a short story by celebrated Indian author, Ruskin Bond, explores the fantasy genre which hasn’t been touched upon much in Indian cinema.
Poster of Bhargav Saikia’s The Black Cat
Shot at a beautiful colonial property near Nainital in Uttarakhand, film features veteran actor Tom Alter as Ruskin Bond and Shernaz Patel as an English Witch, Miss Bellows and a black cat in the titular role.
Tom Alter’s close friendship with Ruskin Bond in real-life makes his performance special. Tom Alter is from Landour, where Ruskin Bond resides.
The films’ visual effects are done by Phantom-FX in Chennai who were also responsible for the VFX of major parts of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
The Black Cat will also be screened at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival in the Indian Competition section, Signs Festival in Kochi in the Fiction Competition section and McMinnville Short Film Festival in Oregon, USA in September. It will have a special screening at the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival in Guwahati, Assam on September 17.
Previous official film adaptations of Ruskin Bond’s stories include Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf and The Blue Umbrella, and Shyam Benegal’s Junoon.
